Our Twisted Hogwarts
by Almost Winter
Summary: Overrun with drugs, sex, and alcohol, Hogwarts isn't what you think it is. AU Hogwarts story. Rated M for strong language, drugs, alcohol, non-graphic sex, and Luna er... . Neville/OC, Draco/OC friendship , Everyone/Everyone. Slight Mary-Sue warning.
1. Chapter I

**A/N: This is hardly romance. Here's a forewarning so I can avoid about seventy-five percent of the flames I'll be getting: this is quite the racy one-shot. If drugs, sex, alcohol, language, and/or mentions of some more things that are typically frowned upon. If it offends you, don't read it. Be mature, guys.**

**I also have decided to make this into a real story. Enjoy.**

**AND I decided to make this halfway through fifth year instead. This is basically an AU story. I won't be following the plot really at all. Have fun with that~**

Drugs, sex and alcohol. Drugs, sex and alcohol. These were the things that were running Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in 1996. JK Rowling left out something vital: the drugs, sex and alcohol. After one student introduced Muggle drugs and liquor to Hogwarts, the majority of students abusing these things grew… With drugs and alcohol, naturally, comes sex. Few students showed up in class anymore, and when another student showed a few select teachers to the alcohol, the teachers fell into the ring.

Sex was overpowering the school. Any risqué thing you could think of was happening at Hogwarts: incest, homosexuality, gangbangs and even pedophilia. People were sleeping with people for drugs: students and students, teachers and students, teachers and teachers. There were a few people with preexisting alcohol problems that stayed away from drugs and vice versa. Sex addicts, drug addicts, alcoholics, and disease ruled the school. Parents didn't know.

Elizabeth Upton sat in the Gryffindor common room alone. She was one of the select few that had actually stayed away from the drugs and alcohol and sex. She was likely the only virgin left in the school. She had a book about Manticores on her lap. She was taking notes on the contents of the book. The only sober teacher in the school, Hagrid, had slowly become her best and only friend.

Even her previous idol and best friend Neville Longbottom had fallen into the circles of sex and alcohol but as far as Beth knew, he had managed to stay out of drugs. It broke her heart when she found out how much alcohol he had been taking into his body. Beth herself had never had a sip of any liquor. Drugs? Certainly not.

Beth could only guess that everyone was out partying – it was a Friday night after all. (Not that it mattered, they would have been partying anyway.) Two AM had just come around when people flooded into the common room, laughing. They all smelled of smoke and booze and it made Beth want to gag.

"Beth! Beth, ahhhhhhh, you shoulda been there," Seamus laughed as he stumbled over to her. He sat on the sofa next to her and slung an arm over her shoulder. She shrugged it off and moved a bit in the opposite direction.

Beth spoke quietly. "I don't think so… I'm guessing it was too much _fun_ for a square like me."

That was when Dean shoved a bottle of vodka her way. "C'mon, Bethie, take a sip. It won't bite."

"Er, no thanks…" She mumbled, pushing the bottle away from her face. She tried to ignore the moans coming from the other side of the room where Lavender was giving Ron a blowjob drunk. She had come to ignore the raucous behavior of her "classmates."

Her eyes came to Neville. He was simply stumbling around with a bottle of something in his hand. _Neville certainly isn't the pleasant kind of drunk…_ Beth thought. _But who is? Well, I guess that would make Neville the _really _unpleasant sort of drunk… The first time I saw him drunk…_

Beth sunk into memories.

_It was two weeks into the beginning of their fifth year , and the alcohol and drug craze had just become popular. Beth walked down the hall nervously, people offering her marijuana and lots of alcohol. _Neville and I will never fall into this… They're so stupid! _Beth thought, laughing on the inside. She finally reached the Gryffindor common room. Neville wasn't to be seen. So Beth did was she thought naturally, which was go up to the boys' dormitories and knock on their door._

_"Neville?" Beth asked softly. "Neville, are you in there?"_

_"Go the fuck away!" He slurred and she was actually knocked back in surprise from his words._

_Beth opened the door slowly. Neville had a bottle of rum in hand and several other bottles that were clinking together as he stumbled over them. He attempted to kick them away as she walked in._

_"I told you to go the fuck away, you stupid bitch!" He hollered and attempted to hit her but she stepped away and he just stumbled forward._

_"Out…" He mumbled._

_"Neville, please-"_

_"OUT!" He yelled and Beth just ran out._

That had been the first time he had ever yelled at Beth and the first time he had ever attempted to hit her or touch her in any way that might have been appropriate. There were still drunken people stumbling around the room asking for free blowjobs or for pot.

Beth had already been offered lots of drugs and drinks and dicks all of which she turned down politely.

She decided to leave the common room. Hell would freeze over before she would decide to stay. It was far past curfew but the prefects were too tipsy to patrol. She simply wandered the halls until she found one that seemed deserted enough. She sat down and began reading once more.

There were footfalls. They sounded like those of person who was drunk out of their mind. She shoved herself against the wall wishing she was invisible.

The sounds ambled off in the opposite direction. Beth put her shoulders down and sighed with relief.

"What's wrong, Bethie? Getting a bit too wild for modest little you?" Peeves screamed into her ear with a tune, frightening her half to death.

"Oh… Oh my! I thought… I feared the worst!"

"Shame I can't drink, I'd be the life of the party!" He added jovially.

Beth buried her nose back in the book. Typically she wasn't the bookish type, but of course, someone had to be. "I imagined you'd be quite the drunk."

"You bet!" He laughed and floated down the hall, singing some tune or another.

"Beth? Be-eth?" Voices. _It's always _someone_, isn't it?_ She thought, looking away. She had stayed the night in the hallway without a blink of sleep. No one could be trusted, not anymore.

She scooted farther down the hall quietly, hoping the person was too hung-over to notice her there.

"Beth? It's me, Neville! Where are you, Beth?" He called.

Beth slid up the wall, clutching her Manticore book to her chest. Presently it slid out of her grip and slammed on the floor. There was a grunt and Neville found himself feet from the girl.

"Beth… I was looking for you. What did you do to make that bloody sound?" He groaned, rubbing his head in pain.

"I… I… can I help you? Is there anything you need?"

He shook his head. "This morning I noticed that you weren't around…"

"It's noon."

"Morning," he repeated. "You're usually up early, aren't you?"

"Yes, but I'd imagined you'd have been too drunk off your ass to notice I'd even left."

Neville looked at me with sincerity. "I'm sorry, I try, Beth. Addictions aren't easy to deal with, all of Hogwarts has been infected with this. All I want is for you to f-…" Neville paused as something appeared to come up his throat but he managed to brush it off. "Forgive me."

Beth rolled her eyes. "Sure, you try. I'm sure I'm the only one above fourth year that's actually clean. Look at you, Neville! You're all cut up, you're knackered and you say you're trying? That's rubbish, Neville! How about this: if you can prove to me that you're truly, honestly, trying, then I'll forgive you. Until then, you're still just part of the fashion."

Elizabeth Upton brushed past him and Neville Longbottom watched her go.


	2. Chapter II

**A/N: Okay, so I _am_ continuing this story. I haven't been very involved in Harry Potter in forever, so my facts will be a little bit off and everyone will be OOC. This is my pathetic excuse for a chapter after a forever-long hiatus. Don't hit me with things.**

**The Harry Potter franchise is copyright J.K. Rowling and all the people and blah blah blah you know how this goes. Review. Do it.**

Beth settled herself into the quietest, most secluded part of the school, which was, surprise, surprise, the library. She had a book laying flat on the table next to her and a piece of parchment there next to the book. There was an ink pot and a quill in hand but she couldn't see the point in anything she was doing. All she could think of was how she had treated Neville. He had apologized, nearly begged for forgiveness, and she had set standards for him. He had admitted to trying, but she hadn't believed him. She had called him "part of the fashion." In retrospect, Beth really didn't know what that had meant. They had never exactly followed the latest fads, but they had never been non-conformists, either. What had she meant?

A loud giggling and hiccuping sounded suddenly in the library and Beth groaned. She reluctantly allowed her eyes to wander upward toward the intruders in her sanctuary. Beth rolled her eyes upon learning that it was only Terry Boot and Hannah Abbott with bottles of almost-empty booze in hand. Peevishly, she slammed the book and placed the parchment on top of it. She grabbed her quill and also succeeded in knocking over the ink pot Beth muttered the beginning of a swear word but stopped herself and picked up the ink before it could get anywhere it ought not be (as though anyone would reward her for cleaning up after herself). She packed everything into her book bag (which, at this point was nearly entirely empty due to the lack of need to carry around books anymore).

Madame Pince, the librarian, had long since disappeared from the library. Beth wasn't too keen on what she was up to.

"Merlin!" Beth cried after turning around and seeing another person behind her. After taking a moment to recover from the initial "shock," she looked up and saw it was Draco Malfoy.

Lovely.

It was odd, however, that his eyes weren't glazed over with drug use nor did his breath smell of alcohol. He wasn't cut up and he didn't look like he had just experienced hell for a hit. Draco appeared to be his normal, mean self. However, the "I'm better than you so worship the ground I walk on, loser" smirk was gone without a trace. Instead, there was a slight frown and very studying look in his eyes.

"Can- Do you need something?" Beth asked, backing into the table. She immediately reprimanded herself for putting herself in such a vulnerable place and immediately prayed he wasn't there for anything they would regret later.

Draco gave her the once-over before saying, "You're still sober."

"I- Well, yes... I don't really want to end up like Hannah over there." Beth jerked a thumb over her shoulder and there was the Hufflepuff student there, already half-naked and all over Terry Boot. The bottle of liquor now lay entirely empty on the ground.

"What about Longbottom, then? I thought he was involved with all of this," Draco urged, his fair eyebrows knitting together.

Beth shook her head. "Even then, I wouldn't've done it. It's- It's unhealthy," she explained, slipping away to a spot where she would be able dart off if necessary. She nervously gripped tightly onto the wooden chair that was behind her. Draco turned toward her but he didn't lunge at her. "I'd hate to destroy my life in such a stupid way." Beth bit her lip and when he didn't respond, she continued, "Are- Are you sober?"

Draco didn't nod or say "yes" or any other word of affirmation, only "Father wouldn't be happy if he found out I wasn't."

"Your father knows about Muggle drugs?" Beth asked, slightly loosening the frightened grip she had on the chair behind her.

Draco nodded. "He doesn't want his son to be having issues that Muggles are having, too."

Beth raised an eyebrow. "He doesn't forbid it because we're fifteen and sixteen? Or because it's unhealthy? Or-"

"You wouldn't understand."

This silenced her completely. She didn't understand at all. Beth didn't know Draco's father well. She knew he was involved in some pretty grim stuff, but beyond that, it was a complete loss. She was also well aware that many, if not most Slytherin students were rather intolerant of Muggles and everything they stood for.

Beth's aunt and legal guardian was the same way... but not quite. Her aunt was disgusted by Muggles, but the passing disgust didn't extend as far as Draco's father's hatred for them did. Her aunt could tolerate Muggle-born wizards and witches and she didn't particularly favor purebloods, whereas Draco's father was so incredibly biased toward Purebloods, it was almost painful.

After a moment of awkward silence during which Beth pondered Draco's statement, Beth asked, "Do you know of anyone else who's clean?"

Draco made a face an looked away. "Granger..."

"...has a drinking problem. She's slightly more controlled than some of the others, nevertheless it's still an issue," Beth explained, turning to leave the library to the problematic students. Draco followed her through the labyrinthine bookshelves before they found the exit and used it as such.

Again, they were silent. They seldom talked when things were normal and they had virtually nothing in common. Conversational topics were nil.

Finally, Draco, in a pathetic attempt at niceties, asked, "What happened to Longbottom?"

Beth shrugged, lowering her head and lifting her book bag father up onto her shoulder. "I'm not sure... I just went to see him, but he was changed into this rampaging alcoholic overnight. Last night he told me he was trying to fix himself, but I don't believe it... He was drinking just before he said it... I guess you don't care." Passively, Beth thought, _So maybe he's not nice and he's not the sweetheart that Neville is, but at least he's not terrorizing me like always... I do miss the old Neville, though._

"I can't believe they'd allow the buffoon into the circles." Beth didn't agree or deny it. She wasn't about to defend him because 1.) she was upset with him, and 2.) she wasn't so keen on losing the one shot she had at a sober friend. Beth couldn't formulate an intelligent response to it, so she remained silent until they reached the floor the Gryffindor common room was on.

"I'm going to go to bed, I suppose," Beth said. Although it was a Saturday night, she found herself getting tired more easily, if not for the sake of the rest of the sleep-deprived school. It was only eight-thirty P.M.

Draco agreed it was a good idea on her part. As she turned to go to the Gryffindor common room, Draco stopped her and said, "We're not friends."


	3. Chapter III

**A/N: So, um, yeah. This is chapter three. The big, uh, three. Yeah. I think you'll have it figured out. I'm going to get a start on, uh, you know, chapter four. FUN FACT: On spellchecker for OpenOfiice, did you know that "Neville" isn't a word, whereas "Seville" is? 'Kay. /lame and unnecessary author's note**

Beth's dormitory was empty, save for Parvati Patil with her face buried in a pillow. It smelled like a mixture of firewhiskey and pot smoke, but Beth had grown used to it over the course of the epidemic. All of the beds were unmade. _But I made my bed this morning... Oh gosh... They didn't._ Beth thought miserably, looking at her bed hopelessly. She tore off all the sheets and put them next to her bed, unable to recall a spell to clean sin off of bedsheets. After taking the pillowcases off of the pillows, she finally felt safe enough to lie down and sleep.

_The obnoxious pounding in her head startled her awake. She sat up suddenly and a high-pitched something sounded in her head. It was a loud, screaming noise that refused to cease. "FORGIVE HIM!" It wailed mercilessly. "HE'S TRYING HIS HARDEST!" Half of Beth's upper lip raised with disgust and anger._

"_Shut up..." she mumbled, lowering her head back to the pillow, grabbing her head. "I don't know what you're talking about."_

_The voice stopped screaming for a moment. "You know perfectly well what I'm talking about, Elizabeth!" The screaming then continued._

"_I hope you're planning on telling me anyway, you little bugger... And for Merlin's sake, stop screaming!" she exclaimed. Beth then realized she was talking to a voice in her head and giggled._

_Under the screaming, one word flashed in her mind: "Neville." She smacked herself in the forehead. _Duh. Forgive him... Forgive Neville? He is _not_ trying his hardest. I know that. If he was really trying as hard as he could, he would've stopped by now. Alcoholism isn't so bad... I think..._ Beth then thought of her parents, who never touched alcohol but still somehow ended up with the Longbottoms in St. Mungo's. _

_Beth raised her head and took a large gulp of the bottle of scotch in her hand. It tasted good and it filled her body with warmth to the edges of her skin. She dropped the the bottle off of the edge of the mass she was laying on, though she heard no thud. _

_Beth raised herself to her elbows and peered over the edge and saw nothing but a seemingly endless black pit. Her hand made contact with her forehead. "Oh, Merl-" The bed plummeted into the nothingness and all that Beth could produce was a loud pitched scream that perfectly matched the one in her head._

"Bloody hell..." Beth mumbled, yawning as she woke up. The plummeting feeling in her stomach still lingered. She felt sick all over. It felt as though there was a tiny person sitting on a cozy chair in her head with a mallet in hand, banging on the inside of her forehead.

She sat up, her arm straight out on the bed to support her. Beth looked around and observed that Parvati had gone but instead, Lavender was now in the room, on the floor at the foot of Beth's bed. "Why do I even bother?" Beth muttered unintelligibly to herself, swinging her legs over the bed and walking to Lavender's feet.

Beth stretched before bending down and grabbing Lavender by the ankles and dragging her unconscious body across the floor and sloppily into the bed, face-down. She looked like a murder victim.

After making her bed, Beth got ready to face the day. Though it was a pointless task as classes could hardly be referred to as thus, it had become routine.

There were bodies scattered throughout the common room and it smelled like sweat and stale sex. Beth's nose crinkled as she went downstairs. Jealousy erupted within her as she scanned the room and spotted Neville surrounded by girls (as well as Seamus, though Beth didn't point it out).

Beth had never been particularly smart or fit or cute. Her hair didn't have the certain shine to it like Ginny's did. She wasn't a bombshell with a "hot body" and she didn't do particularly well in classes. She was, in any and all cases, average. Beth's sister, a gorgeous, cunning Ravenclaw, never failed to remind her that she was "ugly" by comparison, "fat" by comparison, and "stupid" by comparison. Sure, Beth was better than average at Care of Magical Creatures and she had more restraint, but past that, she didn't quite come to par.

The second the wave of jealousy passed, she felt a rush of annoyance and frustration hit her smack-dab in the forehead. _What happened to "trying to fix himself"? He's clearly not doing a very good job..._

_So far, so good... _Beth thought as she crept down the stairs quietly, managing to not wake anyone up. This small victory was short-lived, as the moment she took her second step off of the stairs, her foot caught under an upended coffee table and gravity threw her face-first over the table into the ground.

"For crying out loud!" Beth exclaimed loudly as she hit the floor. As though in unison, twenty eyes opened and glared in her direction and groaned at the sudden movement. Beth struggled to her feet, feeling an acute pain in her stomach from having the side of a coffee table lodged in it.

"What in the bloody hell are you doing?" she distinguished Ron Weasley's voice behind her.

Beth muttered an apology and set the coffee table straight again.

"Beth? What are you doing?" Neville grumbled. Beth straightened and turned and walked toward him, grabbing his elbow and forcing him to his feet. She dragged him out of the common room, ready to chew him out.

"What happened to trying to stop? You're clearly not trying very hard, if at all!" Beth hissed.

Neville rubbed the back of his head and said, "I- I didn't do anything."

"That's a terrible lie!" Beth exclaimed.

"Okay..." Neville rubbed his forehead. "I had one drink. One. And then I fell asleep. It's the truth. Ask anyone."

Beth's hand collided with her forehead. "They're all too drunk in there to remember their own names, Neville!"

"I'm not lying!"

"What were all those girls doing, then?" Beth pointed at the portrait of the Fat Lady, who was watching with interest as the two argued quietly.

Neville put his hands up and replied, "I don't know! Listen, Beth, I know this is hard to believe, but you have to know that all I did was come down from my room around midnight and have _one_ drink before I fell asleep. What would I gain from lying to you? You'd find out somehow!"

"That's just it, Neville! If you wouldn't _look_ suspicious, I wouldn't investigate! I don't understand why you fall asleep in the common room with a crowd of girls surrounding you and then bothering lying to me and telling me you're innocent when _clearly_ there's something awry? It's just plain idiotic!" Beth cried, throwing her hands in the air.

A portrait of an elderly man from somewhere in the 1700s then interrupted, "Do you mind? We are trying to sleep!"

Beth glared and the portrait glared back before she looked back at Neville, not really feeling in the mood to fight with art. "Neville, I've told you once. I will stop being mad at you once you fix yourself. Stop drinking, stop everything. Once you can show me that you've gone back to your old self, we can be friends, but as of now, I'd like to not know you. I'm going to the library," she announced and turned on her heel.

"Beth, wait-"

Angrily, Beth turned, her frizzy golden ponytail flipping over onto her shoulder. "_I don't want to hear it, Neville_! As of right now, I like _Draco Malfoy_ more than you. Do you know why that is? Because he's not being _stupid_. For once, I think you could actually learn from him," Beth hissed and turned again, hurrying off.

Around the fifth floor on her descent from the Gryffindor tower on the seventh floor to the library on the fourth floor, Beth began to feel guilt chewing at her insides. She had an imposing feeling that she had been wrong about Neville's intentions, though her pride would seldom let her admit her faults. The dream that had taken place in her mind continually returned and she wondered if she should have heeded its advice, as reluctantly as she would've.

Beth could hardly stand herself. Through second, third, and fourth year, Beth had fostered an almost painful admiration and crush on Neville Longbottom, though he wasn't smart or particularly attractive (he wasn't _terribly_ ugly... he was chubby and his ears stuck out and he was short and he had odd-looking teeth), but he was the sweetest guy she knew and he was a hard worker. She knew it was odd for a girl to be so subjective rather than objective like most other adolescent ladies her age, but she figured she was seeing things that others wouldn't because they wouldn't dare give him the time (among other things – Neville was terribly shy, especially around girls).

For example, her heart had nearly melted with excitement when they were in the fourth floor corridor – where Beth was standing now – when Dean had shoved Neville into Beth and forced him to ask her to the Yule Ball. Out of nervousness, she had nearly said no, but sense whacked her in the back of the head and she accepted his offer.

Beth stopped a moment to recall the incident exactly as it had happened.


	4. Chapter IV

**A/N: This is a very clustered chapter. Don't hate me for it, please... I do realize I'm rushing the story, and yes, though no one has said anything about it, I do know that Beth is a bit of a Mary-Sue. I ask for nothing but your forgiveness. Good day and enjoy the story... Ahem. And also, this chapter leads right in from the last one. I don't know why I didn't just throw the beginning of this one into the end of the last one... It's because I'm a bitch and I like to make you remember. Yeah, so, uh, enjoy.**

"_Well, go on, then!" Beth heard Dean urge from behind her. At this, she became slightly more distant in her conversation with Hermione Granger on the subject of Viktor Krum. Hermione was hazily telling Beth about how sweet it was when he had asked her and how shocked she was and feelings and blah blah bollocks._

"_I'd hate for her to say no, and what if she does? What then?" she heard Neville reply nervously from behind her. Beth was well aware that Neville had already asked Hermione to which she had rejected. A nasty feeling in her guy told her he was going to ask again, thinking all hoity toity that Beth wouldn't care. She herself had been asked by Seamus, to which she had politely declined. It wasn't that Seamus was a bad guy – he could be crude at times, but was never a bad person – it was just that she was intent on Neville or no one (though the only person she had actually admitted this to was Hermione, who she trusted could keep a secret)._

_Hermione peered over Beth's shoulder, smiled slickly, and glided off with a small "good-bye." The second she had disappeared within the ranks of students in the hallways, someone slammed into her back after someone laughed, "Just do it already!" Beth swiveled and Neville was standing there, looking nervous and rather uncomfortable even to be in Beth's presence._

"_Hello," Beth greeted, excitement bouncing around in her core._

"_So, uh, I was wondering if, maybe, you'd want to go to the Yule Ball with me? I mean, just as friends-"_

_Beth grinned and replied, almost too excitedly, "I'd love to go with you... I've got to go... I'll see you later, Neville."_

Beth remembered this fondly as she passed the library, running her hand along the wall. She decided at the last minute that she certainly didn't want to go in there after what she had witnessed last time.

_I wonder what Liv's been up to..._Beth thought half-mindedly. Olivia, her older sister by a year, was about everything Beth was not. Liv was a beautiful Slytherin student, promiscuous before it was cool. She had the champagne-and-satin platinum locks of her father, and the bright blue eyes of her mother, whereas Beth had inherited the coarse mane of dirty blonde hair from her mother and the dull brown eyes of her mother. Liv was tall and slim; Beth was of almost average height and was slightly thickly built. However, Liv had a tendency to be cruel and snobbish, which Beth almost never was. She was usually polite and level-headed, which almost made up for her plainness.

If there was one thing that made Beth cringe, it was her own sister's promiscuous nature. There was nary a Slytherin student she wouldn't lower herself to getting intimate with. Rumor had it she had even gone to bed with Crabbe and Goyle, though it was never really a secret that her standards were depressingly low when the subject was fellow Slytherin students.

Like clockwork, her sister appeared at the end of the corrider. Some of the students swore she could have been part Veela, though the idea was seldom accepted due to Beth's traits. Liv's hair swung in a long, pale ponytail at her shoulderblades. Her mouth tightened into a frown as she spotted Beth.

They were alone in the corner save for Evan Rosier, who lay asleep at the entrance of the library. "I see you're doing well for yourself. Aunt Nancy would be proud," Liv mused. "Aunt Nancy" was her mother's strict sister who was anything but suited for a parent. She was typically referred to as "Nan" by Beth. Beth was treated (and punished) more strictly than Liv due to her tendency to not do well in classes and because she wasn't one of the beautiful people as her sister was. "Oh... but what's my inspiration to tell her you've been sober? Gosh, think of how painfully _easy_ it would be to simply tell her you've been terrible... Hm..." her sister's voice was like wine with barbed wire in it.

"Liv, I'm kind of upset right now... Please..." Beth replied nervously. Why she had said "please" she didn't know. It was almost as though she was asking for her to just leave her alone and keep her big mouth shut.

Liv's bottom lip jutted out in a pout that seemed to be coated with sarcasm. "Aww... Did your ugly little boyfriend dump you?"

"He's not ugly and he's not my boyfriend!" Beth screeched quietly.

The tall blonde began circling her younger sister like a shark. "Aren't we sensitive? I'm not really feeling convinced to not slip in a few words about you to Aunt Nancy..."

Beth opened her mouth to respond, but no words came out.

"Don't you have to go sell your body for money somewhere?" a voice Beth immediately processed as Draco's voice cut in. He was standing behind Beth some five yards away, his hands at his sides but a challenging smirk on his face.

Immediately Liv shot back, "Don't you have to go be a pompous arse elsewhere?"

"I've still got time."

Liv's attention went back to Beth. "I don't know whether he's an improvement or not. Hmph." Liv flicked back her ponytail unnecessarily and walked off in the opposite direction.

"I never realized how ghastly she was until now," Draco spat at Beth as though he were talking to Crabbe or Goyle, with disgusted look on his face.

_I wonder if this means we're friends now. Draco isn't exactly the type I saw myself being friendly with when I first got accepted into Hogwarts... Then again, with the way Liv and Nan looked down on me and acted as though I was a pain in the arse to have around, I suppose I really didn't expect to have any friends. Even getting Neville as a friend was quite the accomplishment... but then again, Neville wouldn't have had any friends either,_ Beth thought, and went to look at Draco, but found that he had left her walking alone.

Beth's eyebrows furrowed as she spotted one Luna Lovegood sitting against the wall on the floor, a copy of the _Quibbler_ in her hands. She was spinning the magazine in circles, tilting her head this way and that.

"Luna?" Beth mumbled, approaching her with caution.

Without stopping her odd practice, she replied, "Hello, Beth!" in a cheery way. Beth saw an almost-full bottle of wine by her, though she was aware Luna didn't need it. Luna seemed drunk all the time – was she trying to drink herself sober? The notion made Beth bite back a giggle.

Beth sat next to her and asked, "How are you?"

"Delightful, thank you," she replied in her airy, almost American sounding voice.

"Um, what- what are you doing there?"

Luna paused before replying, "I'm not... sure..." and putting the magazine down. She picked up the open bottle of wine and offered Beth some. She then proceeded to set the bottle back down and she replied, "I don't want any either. I just lost the cap, so I have to either finish it or stay with the bottle."

"Why?"

Luna peered around and leaned forward. "The Nargles will take it if I leave."

With an eyebrow raised, Beth nodded. She had never really understood what Luna meant at all, but she firmly believed that there was some profound underlying meaning in everything that Luna said... though Beth had no idea what it might be.

Reopening the magazine, Luna asked casually, "Are you and Neville still fighting?"

"Yes, we- how did you know Neville and I were fighting?"

"I overheard those boys talking about it."

Beth looked at the Ravenclaw girl curiously. "What boys?"

"Oh, that Irish boy was telling Harry and Ron about it... I believe Ron replied with something about wanting to nail you."

Beth shook her head. Seamus didn't know anything about anything and he was telling people about the personal business of others... Beth felt slightly uncomfortable at Ron's response to Seamus' news, but she figured that they had either been drunk or high at the time, so she didn't take the statement as valid.

"That was delicately put, Luna. Well done," Beth chuckled.

Luna smiled lightly and replied, "Thank you. If you'll excuse me, I have to go find my shoes... Please take this with you... I don't want it." She thrust the open wine bottle into Beth's hands and glided off.

"Luna, I don't-" Beth called, but Luna was gone.

Beth looked at the bottle. It was nearly filled with a purple liquid that smelled odd, like something her grandmother might use to clean the couch. The label had been smudged out, as though someone's sweaty hand had been holding it for too long, but Beth figured Luna had gotten bored and the smudged label was the result.

_I wonder what it tastes like..._ Beth thought, but shook her head. _No. Wondering is what got us into this whole mess._ Beth set the bottle back down, but seemed to be whispering her name.

"Okay..." she mumbled. "Just one sip, and we're done. Completely."

Beth lifted the bottle to her lips and let a small amount of the liquid flow over her lips. At a first taste, Beth hated it, thinking it tasted like grapes and the Draught of Living Death. After a moment, however, she decided to give it a second "one sip." She took another sip, and this time, it tasted pretty good. After a third and fourth "one sip," she pushed the bottle away from herself. _Okay, I'll stop. It's not that good._ Beth bit her lip and then continued, _Okay, one BIG sip and we're done forever, yes?_ She lifted the bottle once more and let as much wine as could fit in her mouth go in and put the bottle down. She swallowed it and looked around.

"Look who's drinking now!" Peeves taunted.

Beth's eyes widened. "Peeves, no. You can't tell anyone about this. I was just... um... testing?"

"I don't really feel the motivation to keep this a secret..." Peeves replied, thrusting his hips forward and backward.

With a moan of distress, Beth replied, "What am I supposed to do for you, a ghost, to not have you tell anyone?"

Peeves smiled devilishly. "Well, being a ghost doesn't stop me from not wanting to see a good pair once in awhile."

Offended, Beth's jaw dropped and she replied, "I am _not_ going to do that!"

"Well, I guess I'll just go tell everyone I see, then... I'm sure they'll be glad to hear that the virgin Bethie has taken to the fashion."

"Peeves..." Beth mumbled angrily.

The ghost shrugged. "Well, if you want them to find out rather than showing a _ghost_ a harmless pair of tits, then..."

"Okay... Peeves, if I show you my breasts, will you please keep quiet?"

Peeve's translucent eyes seemed to glow with devilish satisfaction as he nodded.

Beth sighed, bit her lip, and began unbuttoning her shirt.


End file.
